Pollok Picture House

Glasgow City Archives, Department of Architectural and Civic Design

Cars in a garage in Shawbridge Street in Pollokshaws, 1958. In the background is the Pollok Picture House. This is one of a series of photographs taken by Glasgow Corporation's Architectural and Planning Department prior to the wholesale redevelopment of Pollokshaws in the 1960s.

The fine 1950s models are in the garage of Ernest Pickwell & Son at 130 Shawbridge Street. Ernest Pickwell was a market gardener who diversified into the motor trade in the 1920s.

The Pollok Picture House was about to close for good when this photograph was taken. Originally called the Maxwell, it was opened by James Graham in 1921. The large brick building had a capacity of 980. It was renamed the Palladium in 1932, and closed for a time in 1934, before it was reopened and sold to Annie M Burns in 1945. The new owner refurbished the building, in an attempt to rid it of its nickname "Wee Buggy", and renamed it the Pollok. The cinema closed in 1958, and the building was demolished four years later.

Reference: Glasgow City Archives, AP9/7/28/55

Reproduced with the permission of Glasgow City Council, Libraries Information and Learning